The Story of the Champions
by LeanerSmile796
Summary: We all know of the story of how the Champion of Kirkwall came to power, but what if the Champion did not survive long enough to even make it to Kirkwall, and it was left to his siblings to do what must be done?
1. The Escape

**Hey everyone. I know what you are all thinking, "Didn't he say he will finish **_**Search for the Dwarven Ring**_** before he will start his any other stories?" And the answer is yes. Dragon Age is one of my favorite video game franchises and this story has been running through my head like crazy. So here for your enjoyment is the story of how the Champions came to power.**

**P.S. I will be switching between the story and Varric and Cassandra's interrogation semi-frequently. I will put **_**I.R.**_**and** **a line ****to show whenever it is part of the interrogation, and a just line when it is time for the story again. Enjoy.**

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><p><em>The Escape<em>

_I.R._

Two guards were walking through a dimly lit hallway carrying an unconscious dwarf in their arms. Normally things were quiet, but things have been getting crazy as of late. Every day they found themselves bringing in more witnesses for their boss. They did not know what she was wanting but she was not going to give up no matter how many witnesses they had brought in. This witness they were bringing was different. The dwarf's name was Varric, a regular at the local Hanged Man tavern and the kind of person that would say anything for gold and for the sake of hearing his own voice, but that did not matter. He wore a leather suit with a low, wide collar that went to the lower part of his chest. His blond hair was tied into a small ponytail and, unlike most dwarfs, he did not have a beard, which made him easy to spot. They reached the end of the hallway and entered a room lite by only a candle. The two guards shoved Varric into a chair, then walked out of the room.

Varric rubbed his head, "I've had gentler invitations."

Once he said that a woman in dark armor with Andraste's Sun on its chest came from the darkness. She was reading from a thick book. "My name is Cassandra Pentaghast, Seeker of the Chantry." She closed the book.

"And what is it that you are seeking?"

"The Champions."

Varric checked to see what he still had on him, "Which ones?"

She started towards Varric and threw the book at him, "You know why am here!" She slides a dagger close to his throat. "Start talking, dwarf, I hear that you're good at it." Cassandra then takes the dagger and stabs the book, the blade going through the pages with ease.

"What do you want to hear?" Varric said as he looked at the pages of the book, rubbing his hand on the Hawke family emblem, two birds intertwined facing each other, the dagger went still in it.

"Everything, start from the beginning."

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><p>The Champions, Bethany and Carver Hawke, were going through the remains of their old home in Lothering. Just as they were leaving, darkspawn attacked. They were horrible creatures, twisted and corrupted from when they entered the Golden City as human and carried their taint with them. The two killed the darkspawn with no problem, then Bethany noticed something on one.<p>

"These are scouts. We will have to fight them sooner or later." She said to her twin brother.

"Then we make our stand here." As he said this, the rest of the darkspawn. There must have been at least 30 of them, but they were no match for the Champions; all that they had to do was look at the monsters and they were dead, but more kept coming

Soon after Bethany walked to her brother, "We can't keep this up forever."

"Hopefully they run out of reinforcements first."

Not long after, the beginning of the first wave arrived. Bethany pulled her staff back out, "May I show them the dangers of magic?"

Carver pulled out his great sword, "Next wave, sister." Wasting no time, he ran towards the darkspawn and sliced through them like soft butter. The rest of the wave came and this time it could have been and easy 50. Things were going smoothly until they noticed that the ground underneath them was trembling. An ogre entered the battle field. It must have easily been twelve feet tall and had large horns half of its height. Both of the twins noticed this monstrosity and went straight for it. Bethany launched a fire ball at the ogre's feet that brought it to its hands and knees, then, Carver charged towards the ogre and chopped its head clean off.

But not even the death of a beast as mighty as an ogre would dissuade the darkspawn. They just kept coming, taunting the Champions in their damned language.

"There are too many of them." Bethany said, trying to look for a way out, but there was none too be seen without going through the army of darkspawn. Then right when things could not get worst, it did. A mighty dragon, the Archdemon, leader of the darkspawn; revealed itself on a nearby cliff. It roared and flew down from its perch, then used its fire breath to kill its victims, the Champions.

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><p><em>I.R.<em>

"Bullshit!" Cassandra interrupted in a fury, "That not what happened!"

"Is that not according to the stories you've heard, Seeker?"

"I'm not interested in stories; I want the truth."

"And what makes you think I know anything?"

Cassandra charged towards Varric, "Don't lie to me! You knew them even before they became the Champions!"

Varric put his hands in the air, "And even if I did, I don't know where they are know."

Cassandra turned her back to him, "Do you have any idea what is at stake here?"

"Let me guess. Your precious Chantry is falling to pieces, bringing the rest of the world to the brink of war."

"If you can't tell me where they are, then tell me everything you know."

"And you're not afraid that I'll make it all up as I go?"

"Not at all."

Varric sat back in his chair and put his hands together, "Then you'll need to hear the whole story."

* * *

><p>The Blight had been unleashed on to Ferelden. Darkspawn poured from the Wilds and clashed with the king's army at the ruins of Ostagar. The battle was a disaster. The king was betrayed by his most trusted general. Unprecedented, the darkspawn moved north to Lothering, and many innocents were slain. The Champions' family barely made it out alive.<p>

They were fleeing in a small gorge, with the darkspawn right on their heels. Their mother tripped on a loose rock. To the rescue, Bethany turned around and launched a fireball at the monsters, leaving behind a flame of wall to keep more darkspawn from coming. Carver and their older brother Garrett took care of any that got through the wall.

"I think that's all of them." Carver said once the carnage was over.

"For the moment." Bethany said, trying to catch her breath.

"Maker save us. We lost it all. Everything your father and I worked for." Their mother said looking back at Lothering, which was being destroyed as they spoke.

"I know how much Lothering meant to you, Mother, but we must keep moving." Garrett said to his mother.

"Yes, I know."

"We should have done something sooner." Bethany said, turning towards Carver, "Why did we wait so long?"

"Why are you looking at me? I've been running sense Ostagar." Carver spat at his sister.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I don't think the Blight will sit around while you two sit around and point finger at." Garrett said while looking back at the darkspawn that were lining up at the fire.

"Please, listen to your brother."

"Then let's go," Carver said to his siblings, "Lead on."

So the Champions and their family ran down the gorge. The fire wall behind them went dim, and other darkspawn were waiting for them. They fought until the last darkspawn was dead. Bethany roasting, Carver slicing, and Garrett attacking their minds with his magic; their one priority was making sure that their mother was safe. Once all was said and done, they ran, but Bethany was still unsure about one thing.

"Wait, where are we going?" She asked.

"Away from the darkspawn. Where else?" Carver answered profoundly.

"And then where? We can't just wander endlessly."

Garrett jumped into the conversation, "Honestly, anywhere with no darkspawn sounds goods right about now."

Then their mother made a fate changing decision, "We could go to Kirkwall."

"Are you sure?" Garrett asked.

"There are a lot of templars in Kirkwall, mother." Bethany told her mother out of concern.

"I know that, but we still have family there… and an estate. We will be safe there."

Bethany sighed, not going to take this any further, "Then we will need to go to Gwaren and take ship."

"Assuming that we survive that long." Carver said, memories of Ostagar still fresh in his head.

They continued going along the path until they ran into another batch of darkspawn, but this time they were not alone. There was also a couple fighting for their lives. The first was a women with raid hair, everyday clothing, and a head band. The second was a templar. A darkspawn snuck up behind the templar and sliced a whole clean through the back of his armor. He went down dropping his sword and shield. The woman tackled the darkspawn that got the templar. She kept punching them before grabbing her sword. "You will not have him." She said right before slitting the monsters throat. She then picked up the Templars shield and got the templar back on his feet. "They will not take you." She said to him as they started to come closer. "Not while I draw breath." And she was right. She fought and killed any darkspawn that came remotely close to the Templar. Then all of the monsters were dead.

"Quit squirming Wesley. You'll make it worse." The woman told the templar

"Apostates. Keep your distance." Wesley said, after noticing Bethany's and Garrett's magic in action.

"Well the Maker has a sense of humor… Darkspawn and now a templar. I thought that they all abandoned Lothering." Bethany said sarcastically.

"The 'spawn are obvious in their intent, but a mage is always a mystery. The Order dictates…" He walked closer to Garrett. "The Order dictates…"

The woman held Wesley's shoulder, "Dear, they saved us. The Maker will understand." And just like that, Wesley backed off. "My name is Aveline Vellen. This is my husband Sir Wesley. May we come with you? We will have a better chance of getting out of this one alive."

Garrett was unconvinced, "You're quick to offer allegiance."

"Another blade between us and the darkspawn. Yes please." Carver added.

Bethany turned to her brother, "The nice templar has postponed his hunt for illegal mages. Best that we don't agitate him."

Sir Wesley replied to her, "My duty is clear, but that… is for another day..."

"Okay then, but know this templar. I will be keeping an eye on you." Garrett warned the templar.

"And I to same to you. It is to be expected in these circumstances." Wesley replied.

Aveline walked into the group, "You should also know that if we are to head north, we will be going the wrong way. The bulk of the horde is up there,"

"Then we are trapped. The wilds are to the south and that's not an option." Carver pointed out.

"If our options are south or die, I'll take my chances with south." Garrett said then started moving.

Together they fought through branches of the horde, even taking down a darkspawn mage. They came across many dead refugees that were trying to run away from the horde, only to be slain by it. Everything came to a climax when they reached the top of a large hill. They ran into a large portion of the horde. They fought for their lives, wave after wave. Things were going smoothly until they noticed that the ground underneath them was trembling. An ogre entered the battle field, and it was coming straight for the Champions' mother. Garrett got in between the two, "Stay away from my mother." He tried to attack its mind, however, the damned thing didn't have much of a brain to attack in the first place. The ogre roared then grabbed Garrett, slammed him against the ground, then threw him across the battlefield. Both of the twins saw what happened and went straight for the ogre. Bethany launched a fire ball at the ogre's feet that brought it to its hands and knees, then, Carver charged towards the ogre and stabbed its heart.

When everything looked clear, The Champions and Aveline went to Garrett's body where their mother was sitting their holding his body. "Garrett, come on. The fighting's over."

Aveline knelt by her and looked at Garrett's body, "I'm sorry, Mistress, your son is dead."

"No! They will not take my son away from me"

Sir Wesley walked over, "May I condone your son's soul to the Maker?" He put his hand over his heart, "Ashes we were. Ashes we are. Maker give this boy a place by your side."

Carver place a hand on his mother's shoulder, "At least Father will have some company now."

"Where were you, Carver? He was you older brother. How could you let him charge off like that?"

Bethany put her hand on her mother's other shoulder, "Mother, Garrett wouldn't want us to stay here and greive over him. He would want us to be safe."

"You…you're right."

Aveline looked behind them and drew her sword, "Damn it, they are back."

The darkspawn came and did not stop coming, taunting the Champions in their damned language.

"There are too many of them." Bethany said, trying to look for a way out, but there was none too be seen without going through the army of darkspawn. Then right when things could not get worst, it did. A mighty dragon revealed itself on a nearby cliff. It roared and flew down from its perch, then used its fire breath to kill its victims, the darkspawn. It killed most of them instantaneously, and those that weren't fled. Then the dragon transformed itself into and old but undoubtedly powerful woman.

She walked towards the Champions with one of the dead darkspawn in her hand, dragging it in her wake. "Well, well, what have we here? We use to not get many visitors in the Wilds, but know now it seems that we get them by the dozens." Sir Wesley collapsed near Garrett, his veins were as black as sin.

Carver got his sword ready, "Stay back, I will not let you hurt anyone."

"Let me? As if you could stop me if I were to? Hahaha" the woman taunted him.

"But how can we know if we can trust you? We don't know who… or what you are." Bethany asked, not knowing to expect as an answer.

Aveline looked up, "I know what she is, a Witch of the Wilds."

"Some call me that, yes, they also call me Flemeth, Asha'bellanar, an 'old hag that talks too much'. Call me what you will."

Carver lowered his sword, "Okay then, Flemeth, why are you here?"

"I just witnessed the most curious sight, a might ogre vanquished. Who could have accomplished such a feat? But now my curiosity is sated and I will be on my way."

"You can't just leave us here." Bethany called out before Flemeth was able to transform back into a dragon.

"Oh I can't? Tell me, where is it that you were planning on going?"

"Kirkwall, we have family there." Carver said.

"My, that's a long voyage that you plan. Will your king miss you?"

"King Calain was betrayed. I have nothing left for me here."

"Well then." She turned around and mumbled to herself, "Is it fate, or is it simply chance. I can never decide." She turned around and faced the Champions, "I will take you and your company to Gwaren for you to take ship to Kirkwall. If that is what you want."

"Okay, there has got to be a catch." Bethany mumbled a little too loudly.

"Ha, there's always a catch. Life is a catch. I suggest that you catch it before it gets away. In Kirkwall, you will find a pack of Dalish elves. Give this amulet to their keeper, Marethari. Do as she says and any debt between us will be paid in full."

"Sounds simple enough." Both of the twins said at the same time.

"But first, there is something that needs to be taken care of first." She walked towards Sir Wesley.

Aveline got up in Wesley's defense, "No, do not touch him!"

"What has been done to your man is within his blood already."

"You're wrong."

"My love." Wesley mumbled to Aveline. "The corruption is seeping through me. It is a slow death. Please."

"He is your husband. We can't make the decision for you." Bethany softly spoke.

Carver knelt next to Aveline. "If it makes it better, Aveline, I'll do it for you. But only if you want me to."

"N…No. I will do it." As she said that, Wesley grabbed his spare dagger and held it at a kink in his armor. Aveline looked into his eyes in then forced the dagger through.

"Without an end, there can be no beginning." Flemeth said as she started to turn back into her dragon form

* * *

><p><em>I.R.<em>

"Flemeth." Cassandra interrupted.

"I thought that might interest you."

"Do you expect me to believe that a myth swooped in and saved the Champions?"

"Come on now Seeker, do I need to recite the tale of the Warden as well?"

"No, I suppose that I shouldn't be surprised to hear of her involvement."

"I like my version better too."

"Did she send somebody with the Champions?"

"In a matter of speaking."

"Continue then, but if you say that the Champions flew to Kirkwall on a dragon…"

"Nothing so fanciful, I can assure you."


	2. Into the City

**Hey everyone. Sorry for leaving you on a cliffhanger last time. I promise that this chapter will not in the same way, or will I. (Man I love reverse psychology) Anyhow, I forgot to mention that I will also be including all of the DLC's when I feel that the timing for it is good, except for **_**The Black Emporium **_**since all it gives you is a shop and a Mabari. **

_Into the City_

The witch kept her word, and took the Champions to Gwaren, where they took ship. They sailed across the Waking Sea, packed in with the fearful and the desperate. After two weeks, they saw their destination: Kirkwall, the City of Chains. You see, back during the days of the Emporium, the city was a central hub for the slave trade, but now, it's a free city, but I use the term loosely. Sail past those cliffs and you saw what the slaves of old saw, the Gallows, welcoming you. It was here that they stored all of the slaves during processing, though now it is used as Kirkwall's Circle of Magi, and it was here where the Champions' ship landed, alongside all of the rest.

"They are not letting anyone through." Aveline said looking at a large crowd of Fereldan refugees in front of the group.

"What? That can't be." The Champions' mother said out of disbelief.

"It's true, look at them all." Aveline pointed through the crowd and towards six Kirkwall guards. They were preventing anyone from going past the gates to get into the city.

"They are Fereldans just like us, trying to flee the darkspawn." Carver said.

"And now they will throw us all to the wolves." Aveline added on.

"Well, at least we are all together." Bethany said, trying to find a silver lining in the whole thing.

"We need to find Gamlen. Our family has always been highly regarded in Kirkwall. He can do something, I'm sure of it!" the Champions' mother reminded everyone.

"Let's hope that he got your letter."

"The guards seem to be reporting to that man. We should talk to him." Aveline pointed towards a man behind the line of guards.

The Champions and Aveline walked towards the crowd, leaving their mother behind in case things got ugly. They had to push and shove their way past the refugees and even the guards, but nevertheless, they got to the guard sergeant.

"Back away, you lot," The sergeant said to the group, "Trying to bully your way through won't get you into the city any faster."

"You can't keep us here forever!" Carver yelled at the captain.

"We have enough poor in the Free Marches without you Fereldans pouring in. We will find passage to take you all back to Ferelden, eventually. Until then, we need you to stay put."

Bethany put a hand on Carver's shoulder and brought him back, "Please excuse my brother. It's just, we have family in Kirkwall."

"It's always the same story." The captain said as he thought on it. "Look, if you want in, go and talk to Captain Ewald. I'm just here to make sure that you refuse don't start climbing the walls."

The sergeant let him into the Gallows. The group went in and found the captain. They found him surrounded by deserters from the king's army at Ostagar.

"Let us in, you flaming blighter. We are not staying in this pit." One of the deserters yelled at the captain.

"Then get back on your ship and leave. We do not have any more room for refugees." The guard captain replied calmly.

"The ship's already left. We paid good coin to get here."

"You and half of Ferelden. There is nothing I can do. The city is full."

"If you weren't letting people in, you wouldn't be standing here." Bethany mention to the captain.

"That's right, I have seen you let plenty of people in." The deserter leader said.

"Citizens and merchants that make it worth our while." Ewald turned to the Champions, "And I'll assume that you have no more coin than these gentlemen."

"But we have family here, doesn't that count for something?" Carver asked the guard, hoping to get somewhere

"I have heard that story a thousand times already, serah. We will find ship to take you back to Ferelden… eventually. Until then, you must stay here."

"We came here to look for our uncle, Gamlen Amell, and we are not leaving until we do."

"Gamlen? I know that name."

"He's a nobleman here in the city. Our family has an estate." Bethany added, knowing that this was going somewhere.

"The only Gamlen I know of is a weasel that can't rub to coppers together. If I come across him, I'll bring him here, but I don't have time to…"

"What? You are going to let them through but not us?" The deserter leader yelled at Ewald.

"I never said…"

"We have been here for four days. They just got here." Another deserter said.

"That's it. Get ready, boys, we are carving our way into this city." The leader said, while he and his comrades drew their weapons. Not only did the deserters attack the guards, they also made the foolish mistake of attacking the Champions. The archers tried to back off to shoot their arrows. Bethany went after them so she can use her magic discretely as to not alert the templars of her. They tried to shoot her first but she swung her staff at them making their arrows fly in every direction but forward. She then set her hand on fire and left hearse burn makes in every whole in the archer's armor. Aveline was taking care of anyone that came remotely close to the Champions' mother as Carver was busy dealing with the leader. The leader had a shield with the depiction of a dragon on it, Teyrn Loghain's emblem, she was furiated by this. His betrayal killed her company, her husband, and Garrett. Now, one of his men is to be left safe away from the war. The leader hit Carver with his shield and sent him falling to the ground. But before the leader could finalize the kill, Aveline hit him with Wesley's shield.

"Did you see his shield?" Aveline asked Carver as she helped him up.

"How could I have missed it, one of Loghain's lackeys." He went up to the deserter, kicked his weapon and shield away, then stomped on the deserter, pinning him to the ground.

"I'll let you have him."

"Gladly." When he said this, he quickly replaced his foot with his blade, ending the deserter and the entire skirmesh.

"Maker's breath. That escalated quickly, but I supposed that this was bound to happen." Ewald said looking at all of the bodies.

"Captain!" the sergeant called, "I heard that there was trouble. Are you alright?"

"Yes, no help to you. Go make sure that everyone is settled. I want these docks under control." Ewald said then turned to the Champions, "Look, I'll have some men go and look for your uncle, but I can't guarantee that it will be anytime soon. You are going to have to wait right here."

"It's been three days. This waiting has to end!" Aveline said walking infront of one of the statues in the Gallows.

"It can't be much longer. I'm sure that Gamlen is still looking for us." The Champions' mother replied hopefully.

"And if he's not?"

"Wait, is that him?" Bethany said pointing to a man that just entered the courtyard. He wore simple clothes and looked like he hadn't shaved in a month.

"Leandra! By the Maker, girl, your alive." Gamlen sid once he recognized the Champions' mother.

"Gamlen!" She said in relief then hugged said man. Gamlen hugged back slowly, looking nervous.

"I must say, Leandra, I wasn't expecting any of this. The Blight, your husband, dead. I thought you would be Ferelden for life."

"We made it out the best that we could. Poor Garrett couldn't make it though."

"Oh, Maker, save me. Look, Leandra, don't drop this on me know. I don't even know if I can get you into the city."

"Well, can you get Mother in at least? This is her home after all." Carver asked.

"No, we are staying together." Leandra said to her son, then turned to Gamlen, "But… What about the estate and the family fortune? Surely Father left something behind."

"Yeah, about that… it's, uh, gone… to settle a debt. I had been meaning to tell you."

"Then there is no hope."

"Not quite. I know a few contacts in the city that might help…that is, if you're not too delicate on the company that you keep."

"What do you mean?" Bethany asked.

"They have agreed to pay your way into the city. The catch is that the two of you will have to work off the debt…for a year"

"So we cut through a hundred darkspawn and an ogre, just to be sold into indentured servitude!" Carver pointed out.

"Unless you brought the ogre's head with you on the boat, I doubt it, but believe me when I say that a bunch of refugees couldn't get a better deal anywhere else."

"Ok then, Gamlen, what are our options." Bethany asked, wanting to get this over with.

"Meeran heads up the Red Iron mercenary company, Anthenril…well, I guess you could call her a smuggler. Either party agreed to open the gates."

"Let's go and see what they have to say." Carver said then started to move off.

"Gamlen, I'm not sure about this." Leandra said to her brother.

"It's a lot of coin, Leandra, don't expect our name to care the kind of weight it used to."

"And what of me?" Aveline asked, "I will not allow other to incur debt on my behalf."

"I don't see why not. You look like a lady that can pull her own weight."

"Then you will come with us." Leandra said, glad to have someone else to be with.

"I…have no other real options. Thank you."

So the Champions went off to find the contacts. The first on that they found was the mercenary, Meeran. They found him in a shady corner with some of his men.

"Meeran?" Carver said as they walked up.

Meeran turned around, "Ahh… you must be Garrett Hawke. Your uncle talked up quite a lot about you."

"No… Garrett died on the way up. Now it is just me and my sister."

"Well ain't that a shame. Gamlen gave us a bit of information on the two of you, but we focused on your brother, expectially since he was a skilled mage."

Bethany lite a small fire on her hand, "I'm a mage too, you know."

"True, but not as good as your brother. We were going to pay good coin for a skilled mage and his siblings if that is what it tooks. But since it looks like it we won't be havin' him, we are going to have to rearrange the deal."

"Ok then, what do you want."

"I will only take one of you, but I will only pay half of the money needed for you and your family to get in. That is all I can do."

"I think we will look into the other offers." Carver said unsatisfied with the current deal.

"Let me know how that goes."

So, the Champions left Meeran to look for Athenril. It took a bit a looking, but they found her in a dark alleyway connected to the courtyard.

"Are you Athenril?" Bethany asked the woman.

"Depends. Are you Gamlen's neice?"

"Yes, sadly enough."

"Well, if the three of you are still interested, I can take you to the hideout right away."

"Three…oh, the thing is, our brother, Garrett died on the way up here."

"That's a problem, we were looking mostly of having him with us."

"And let me guess, you want to make changes in the deal." Carver said, not wanting to believe what he was about to hear.

"Sadly, yes. We will take one of you and pay enough for that person and your mother in, about half. That is as high of a deal that I can make."

"Can you give me and my brother a moment to think?"

"Sure thing, let me know when you want into the city."

Bethany and Carver went back into the courtyard, "Well, ain't that something." Carver said unimpressed with the situation. "Thousands of miles from home and all that our two tickets into the city only want is our brother."

"I know, but I was thinking, each only want one and will pay half of the bribe. You go with one I go with the other?"

"That looks like our only option. Other than going back to Ferelden of course."

"Yeah, I'll go with Athenril. Doing the sneaky work seems like the best way to keep out of the templar's sights."

"I was going to suggest that I go with Meeran anyhow."

"Then I guess this might be the last time we see each other for a while."

"Maybe, but who know."

And with that, the Champions split to go and tell their new employers that they are interested. Bethany had to shake down a stall owner in the courtyard who did not repay Athenril for a loan. Carver had to set an example of a noble who gave the Red Irons bad information. Both groups were satisfied with the services that were made and gave the Champions the bribe money up front.

The twins went back to the mother and Uncle when they had their gold.

"Good," Gamlen said then took the gold, "I'll go and make the arrangements."

"Well, I guess we are living here now, for a year aleast." Carver said, looking at the gate that would take them into the city.

"I say that we stay here and don't run away unless we really have to." Bethany said.

"Agreed."

"I wish Garrett were here." Leandra said, still in mourning after her son's death.

"And Wesley." Aveline said joining here.


End file.
